03/06/2010

Boot fair delights... innit

Whilst enjoying an Ale a few weeks back with fellow geek, Mark Phipps, he mentioned that he'd be going to a boot fair over the weekend. Not having been to one since I was small, I invited myself along for the adventure which, fortunately, he didn't mind :)

As a kid I was never overly impressed with the thought of having to get up as the birds chirp, but with a life now crammed with 9 till 5 stresses, being alone in the street with an ambitious Sun looming and only bird songs entertaining my ears as I waited to be picked up, I was in a proper chipper mood.

We managed to traverse 3 different sites over the morning, and although I didn't purchase much, I had a great time. The simple act of looking through peoples things fascinates me, it's like they've invited you into their home as they display their now discarded treasures, on folding tables and blankets. I feel a little guilty as I rummage through their things, expecting them to notice me and chase me off at any moment.

Another treat of course is observing those around you, as an avid person stalker watcher, I can't help but wonder about my fellow treasure hunters. Some stand out as bargain hunting pro's - sensible shoes, darting eyes and a quick pace. Some are out for the company, slow paced lovely people, but if you're not careful, they'll be telling you about the lawnmower they owned 20 years ago and how they don't make 'em like that any more. And some because they can't sleep and it's somewhere to go before the pubs open - obvious by their general lack of interest, constant watch checking and the stagger in their swagger.

Last weekend I witnessed an exchange between two of the above that had me biting my lip to contain the belly laughter. A 'chatter' and an 'uninterested' were paused at a stall and both had dogs, seeing the dog as an open invitation to converse, Mr 'chatter' set about engaging Mr 'uninterested' into forced banter - "lovely dog you have there" "I used to have a boxer" "how old?" "lovely coat" etc All as you would expect, until I over heard this little gem:

Mr 'chatter' "...the thing is, I often find that the females are the ones most likely to cause trouble with other dogs"

Mr 'uninterested' "Well that's why they're called bitches innit"

The day only proceeded to get better, and I ended up walking away with the above items. The half pint tankard was for Ani, which went down very well. And once powered up, I discovered the radio only seemed to tune into talk stations with any clarity, which led to me re-discovering just how good BBC Radio 4 and 7 are, its has had me smiling non stop :)

I look forward to my next boot fair as you never know what will turn up, as they say "one man's trash is another mans treasure"

3 comments:

Hola Robbie! I've not been to one of these in ages. In fact, the last one I was at, I was selling things. Nice observational division of folks, by the way; I'll have to check that out next time. Indigo